Sai Smaran Shanka Balaram is incredibly protective of his time. As a Ph.D. student studying physics at Duke, he has more than enough work and research to fill his days.
“I usually try to say ‘no’ to everything,” he said. “Basically, anybody who’s trying to get time on my calendar, I immediately say ‘no.’ And only if it’s a hard requirement, I say ‘yes.’”
But it was a personal invitation from Blacknall member Scott Hawkins that convinced him to attend the church’s Alpha series, a program that walks through core aspects of the Christian faith for people across the spectrum of belief. At the first event on Jan. 20, Sai was certain he would stay for half of the two-hour gathering and then leave. “I joined and stayed for the whole two hours and thought it was awesome,” he said.
Growing up in an orthodox Hindu family in India, Sai encountered other religions as well, including Catholicism, Buddhism, Jainism and Islam. He stepped away from Hinduism by the time he was 9 years old and, after that, “just kind of ignored all kinds of religion.” But his friendship with Scott has kept his mind open to exploring the historical and philosophical aspects of Christianity while asking questions and engaging in discussion to consider the rest.
“I actually do believe that [Jesus] got back from the dead because I want to,” he said. “I want that part of history to be true. Not because of the evidence or not, because I want to have the same picture of humans as well.”
Alpha is built on that kind of openness. Blacknall volunteers guide small-group discussions about Scripture, and participants come from a wide range of personal and religious backgrounds. Among the dozens of people who show up each week, the group includes a variety of friends, family, coworkers, and acquaintances of Blacknall members coming from across Durham and Raleigh.
The crowd at this week’s Alpha series listens to Caleb Rolling (piano) and Kelsey Minko (vocals) perform worship music.
Since its launch, each Alpha gathering has focused on one big question at a time, from “Is There More to Life Than This?” to “Who Is Jesus?” and “How Can I Have Faith?” This week’s session included worship music for the first time, with songs performed by Blacknall Arts members Caleb Rolling and Kelsey Minko. This weekend, participants have been invited to a one-day retreat that will go deeper with more worship music, prayer, and discussion.
It’s all part of a first-time experience for Charles Huang, who came to the U.S. two years ago from China to pursue a master’s degree in political science at Duke. He has been attending Alpha because he felt it was important to better understand Christianity as part of learning what it means to live in America. Being part of Alpha has shown him how different it can be to form a relationship with God compared with what he was used to seeing back home.
“Where I came from, people treat religion as kind of like an instrument,” he said. “You go to a temple and you offer stuff with the hope that you will strike luck in your career or something.”
As he’s learned about Jesus, Charles has become curious about the idea of a God who loves him no matter what.
“It’s not a taken-for-granted thing,” he said, “the forgiveness that we got because Jesus Christ died for us.”
No matter where Alpha leads Sai, it has already helped him step outside his usual comfort zone. He tends to avoid most conversations about religion, especially when they feel pushy. But spending time in a space that welcomes honest questions has been different.
“The group I’m with is actually very open to challenges, questions, and discussion,” he said. “That’s actually what I look forward to the most.”
Alpha will hold its last session on March 31 with an invitation to join Blacknall small groups and check out our Sunday services. The series will return in early 2027.